The Borderlands of Race : Mexican Segregation in a South Texas Town

Mexican segregaTion was not something that I learned about in my kindergarten through twelfth-grade classrooms; I learned about this history at home, from stories that my mom and her sisters recounted to me, my siblings, and my cousins as we were growing up. As a young adult, I realized how fortunate I was to have been reared in a family of storytellers because it provided me a history, indeed, a historical ethnography that I might not have otherwise known existed. I'm grateful for the first road trip that I took with my mom to her hometown of La Feria, Texas, where I was able to map these stories of the past onto a place and begin an intellectual journey that has been both personally affective and academically rewarding. This book would not have been possible without at least two generations of generous Mexican-origin people from La Feria, who graciously shared their memories, their recollections, their photographs, and their interpretations of the past with me over the last decade. I have been amazed at people's astute recollections of events that occurred sometimes seventy years prior. Interviewing them and listening to hours of their stories was one of the best and most eye-opening parts of my educational journey thus far. I am so grateful to them all. In addition to my interviewees in La Feria, I would like to thank those people in the community who became my friends and supporters throughout my research process. Gloria Casas; JoAnn Mireles; the Loya family, especially Gloria, Anna Lisa, and Leti; the Chapa family; and Janie Betancourt made me feel like I had a home in La Feria during the year that I lived there and for many years afterward. Amparo Verduzco championed my project and enabled me to meet many people of her generation over the years. Carlos Cantú and Reyes Rodriguez likewise helped to facilitate my research and offered thoughtful answers to my questions about the history of the town's racial dynamics. Cristina Ballí and Celeste de Luna have been my valley confidantes and comadres during my many research trips to La Feria. I am also grateful for the mentorship and academic support that I received during my graduate training in Texas and as a professor in California. Martha Menchaca taught me that anthropology could be a powerful vehicle for excavating and examining the past. José Limón and Richard Flores helped me to more deeply understand the poetics of everyday life. Throughout Much Of The Twentieth Century, Mexican Americans Experienced Segregation In Many Areas Of Public Life, But The Structure Of Mexican Segregation Differed From The Strict Racial Divides Of The Jim Crow South. Factors Such As Higher Socioeconomic Status, Lighter Skin Color, And Anglo Cultural Fluency Allowed Some Mexican Americans To Gain Limited Access To The Anglo Power Structure. Paradoxically, However, This Partial Assimilation Made Full Desegregation More Difficult For The Rest Of The Mexican American Community, Which Continued To Experience Informal Segregation Long After Federal And State Laws Officially Ended The Practice. In This Historical Ethnography, Jennifer R. Njera Offers A Layered Rendering And Analysis Of Mexican Segregation In A South Texas Community In The First Half Of The Twentieth Century. Using Oral Histories And Local Archives, She Brings To Life Mexican Origin Peoples' Experiences With Segregation. Through Their Stories And Supporting Documentary Evidence, Njera Shows How The Ambiguous Racial Status Of Mexican Origin People Allowed Some Of Them To Be Exceptions To The Rule Of Anglo Racial Dominance. She Demonstrates That While Such Exceptionality Might Suggest The Permeability Of The Color Line, In Fact The Selective And Limited Incorporation Of Mexicans Into Anglo Society Actually Reinforced Segregation By Creating An Illusion That The Community Had Been Integrated And No Further Changes Were Needed. Njera Also Reveals How The Actions Of Everyday People Ultimately Challenged Racial/racist Ideologies And Created Meaningful Spaces For Mexicans In Spheres Historically Dominated By Anglos. Introduction: Mexican Inflections Of Ethnography And History -- Part 1. The Culture Of Mexican Segregation -- The Borderlands Of Race And Rights -- Establishing A Culture Of Segregation -- Formal And Informal Mexican Education Within The Context Of Segregation -- An Accommodated Form Of Segregation -- Part 2. Processes Of Racial Integration -- Troubling The Culture Of School Segregation : Mexican American Teachers And The Path To Desegregation -- Surgiendo De La Base : Community Movement And The Desegregation Of The Catholic Church -- Epilogue. Jennifer R. Nájera. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Throughout much of the twentieth century, Mexican Americans experienced segregation in many areas of public life, but the structure of Mexican segregation differed from the strict racial divides of the Jim Crow South. Factors such as higher socioeconomic status, lighter skin color, and Anglo cultural fluency allowed some Mexican Americans to gain limited access to the Anglo power structure. Paradoxically, however, this partial assimilation made full desegregation more difficult for the rest of the Mexican American community, which continued to experience informal segregation long after federal and state laws officially ended the practice. In this historical ethnography, Jennifer R. Nájera offers a layered rendering and analysis of Mexican segregation in a South Texas community in the first half of the twentieth century. Using oral histories and local archives, she brings to life Mexican origin peoples' experiences with segregation. Through their stories and supporting documentary evidence, Nájera shows how the ambiguous racial status of Mexican origin people allowed some of them to be exceptions to the rule of Anglo racial dominance. She demonstrates that while such exceptionality might suggest the permeability of the color line, in fact the selective and limited incorporation of Mexicans into Anglo society actually reinforced segregation by creating an illusion that the community had been integrated and no further changes were needed. Nájera also reveals how the actions of everyday people ultimately challenged racial/racist ideologies and created meaningful spaces for Mexicans in spheres historically dominated by Anglos. Throughout much of the twentieth century, Mexican Americans experienced segregation in many areas of public life, but the structure of Mexican segregation differed from the strict racial divides of the Jim Crow South. Factors such as higher socioeconomic status, lighter skin color, and Anglo cultural fluency allowed some Mexican Americans to gain limited access to the Anglo power structure. Paradoxically, however, this partial assimilation made full desegregation more difficult for the rest of the Mexican American community, which continued to experience informal segregation long after federal and state laws officially ended the practice. In this historical ethnography, Jennifer R. Najera offers a layered rendering and analysis of Mexican segregation in a South Texas community in the first half of the twentieth century. Using oral histories and local archives, she brings to life Mexican origin peoples' experiences with segregation. Through their stories and supporting documentary evidence, Najera shows how the ambiguous racial status of Mexican origin people allowed some of them to be exceptions to the rule of Anglo racial dominance. She demonstrates that while such exceptionality might suggest the permeability of the color line, in fact the selective and limited incorporation of Mexicans into Anglo society actually reinforced segregation by creating an illusion that the community had been integrated and no further changes were needed. Najera also reveals how the actions of everyday people ultimately challenged racial/racist ideologies and created meaningful spaces for Mexicans in spheres historically dominated by Anglos. Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: Mexican Inflections of Ethnography and History 14 Part 1. The Culture of Mexican Segregation 26 1. The Borderlands of Race and Rights 28 2. Establishing a Culture of Segregation 48 3. Formal and Informal Mexican Education within the Context of Segregation 70 4. An Accommodated Form of Segregation 96 Part 2. Processes of Racial Integration 120 5. Troubling the Culture of School Segregation: Mexican American Teachers and the Path to Desegregation 122 6. Surgiendo de la Base: Community Movement and the Desegregation of the Catholic Church 147 Epilogue 167 Notes 178 References 184 Index 190 Using oral histories and local archives, this historical ethnography analyzes how and why Mexican American individuals unevenly experienced racial dominance and segregation in South Texas.